First published: Financial Times, 31/05/2017
The authorities reckoned that doing nothing was worse than trying to restore order
The financial crackdown in China in the past three months flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that nothing would be allowed to happen to rock the boat ahead of the important 19th Communist party congress later this year. There is no doubting the serious intent of the regulatory squeeze, but it may nevertheless not persist. The catalyst for the crackdown was probably President Xi Jinping’s personal support for co-ordinated measures and edicts by the main regulatory agencies: the People’s Bank of China and the banking, securities and insurance regulatory commissions. The heads of the securities and banking commissions were replaced by reform-minded and highly respected people. In April the head of the insurance commission was placed under investigation for violations of party discipline, and fired…..Read more:
